Organizing, mobilizing and acting against Carleton University's statements and policies about sexual violence

Friday, July 16, 2010

Open Letter to Carleton University Administration

On June 24th 2010, the Ottawa Citizen published a story in which President Roseanne O’Reilly Runte was quoted as supporting the return of a football team to Carleton University’s campus. According to this article, Carleton is bringing back a football team in 2012 because people on campus demanded it and President Runte wants to 'listen to the Carleton community'. The reasoning behind establishing a football team at Carleton is deeply upsetting and insulting. The Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre opposes this latest news. We have been told by President Runte and management at Equity Services that "Students can't just get something because they asked for it".

The Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Center was formed in the fall of 2007 in the hopes of creating a student-run, university funded sexual assault centre on campus. In early 2008, we held a referendum on campus where over 80% of students supported the creation of a student-run, university funded sexual assault centre.

Carleton’s current president has witnessed support for this centre via letters, faxes, and emails from organizations across Canada. The Coalition held various poster campaigns, a rally and a Task Force on Gender-Based Violence; we have petitioned, sent her letters and have even met with her and her staff.

We have been given a myriad of excuses for not creating a student-run centre, including a lack of funds and the fact that our referendum question was held before her tenure as President.

It is obvious that there is much more at play here. Why do we listen to people who want football teams and not to students who need a sexual assault centre? We demand that Carleton University demonstrate accountability to all of its students, including survivors of sexual assault.

The current situation is completely unacceptable given that the upper administration insists Carleton is experiencing a financial crunch prohibiting this institution from finding funds to send graduate students to present at conferences, or to create proper study spaces for undergraduate students on campus. Indeed, upper management says that money is so tight at Carleton that decisions have been made to fire support staff to make ends meet. If we are so strapped for money, why would we accept and solicit donations to create a football team when people’s jobs are at stake and basic academic needs are lacking?

We demand that Carleton administration show respect for students and the Carleton community by being completely transparent with the information and decisions regarding its finances. Surely, the generous Carleton alumni donors are ultimately interested in ensuring that Carleton University remains a place where higher learning and research are top priority. A sexual assault support centre is part of that mandate since it is a critical step towards ensuring that Carleton students study, learn, and research in a safe and secure space. We ask our Carleton alumni to support us by not donating to Carleton until the centre is a reality at this university.

In addition we would like to highlight that women are being turned away from the Ottawa Civic Hospital due to a shortage of specialized nurses who work specifically with sexual assault survivors. If this is not alarming to the university then the issue of eight women being assaulted per day in Ottawa should raise alarms ("Hidden from Sight," Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women). If Carleton University cared about its students they would do all in their power to assist them in establishing a sexual assault support centre. Access to adequate services is key to academic success. At the moment, Health and Counseling Services are overwhelmed with daily requests for assistance. Establishing a sexual assault support centre would assist in showing students that Carleton University cares and supports students who are survivors of violence.

As there are over 22,000 people including students, staff and faculty who access services on Carleton’s campus we are hopeful that the university and alumni allies will take this into consideration when weighing the need for leisure activities verses essential services. We, the Coalition, see the necessities of having accessible services in order to ensure our campus is safer.

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About Me

The Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre advocates on behalf of the voices of Carleton students to develop a student-run, university-funded, sustainable, and accessible Sexual Assault Centre (SAC) on Carleton University’s campus. This proposed Centre would be available to all Carleton students, staff, and faculty regardless of gender, sex, sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, ability, age, Mother Tongue or student
status. It would provide peer support, advocacy and public awareness about sexual assault. All services would be free and confidential. The Coalition believes that such a Centre would give the Carleton community safe, accessible, and timely access to sexual assault support services on campus.